This interactive report presents the status and trends of the world's forests, including deforestation, species diversity, conservation, and balanced climate solutions.
Students will learn about the interconnected roles of forest plants, animals, and fungi, as well as the benefits that humans gain from our planet's forests.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The vivid animation at the beginning of the article, bold graphics, and colorful photos catch the reader's attention.
Teachers will appreciate the subheaders, which clearly delineate segments of the article since they provide clear stopping points for class discussion.
Additional Prerequisites
There are links to the entire 214-page document, which can be downloaded as a PDF, ePub, .mobi or it can be read online.
The document is also available in several languages.
Vocabulary is rigorous, so a definition list or graphic organizer will be helpful.
Students should have prior knowledge of the metric system since data is presented in meters and hectares.
Differentiation
The article provides a wealth of data about the number of species in various countries, including plants, animals, and fungi, so science teachers can have students read the article, and then work in small groups to conduct further research about specific species.
Social studies teachers can utilize the graphs depicting countries with the most forests by having students create academic paragraphs based on the data.
This will be an excellent note-taking lesson for English classes.
Scientist Notes
This resource features a synopsis webpage and the full State of the World’s Forests 2020 report from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. The synopsis webpage outlines the main findings of the report and features several figures with interactive graphics, allowing for an in-depth understanding of data presented. The full report is more thorough and is a great resource for independent learning. The report includes a useful index of acronyms and abbreviations, key messages at the start of each chapter, great figures, tables and pop-out boxes in the text with key points or examples. Both the webpage and the report feature stunning images and end with a list of action items to protect world forests. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
CCC.Stability and Change: For both designed and natural systems, conditions that affect stability and factors that control rates of change are critical elements to consider and understand.
HS-CCC-Stability and Change.2. Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-1 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-3 Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-3. Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
HS-LS2-2 Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
HS-LS2-7 Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
HS-LS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales.
HS-LS2-7. Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
